


The Skeletons, the Landlady, and the Bad Apple

by VanillaBeanChild



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: "reader" is a bitch at first, "reader" is not frisk, Building trust, F/M, For reasons, Freeform, HorrorTale, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Inspired Work, Mention of substance abuse, Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Skeleton Squatters and the Landlady spin-off, Swapfell, Underfell, angry emo little half sister, angry emo little half sister is a little shit, angry emo little sister, but not "reader", i guess?, irregular updates, it's more about the meaning of sisterhood, reverse-harem - Freeform, sisterly bonds, though we aren't focusing on that, underswap - Freeform, undertale - Freeform, unintended non reader-insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-13
Updated: 2018-03-13
Packaged: 2019-03-30 20:00:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13958922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VanillaBeanChild/pseuds/VanillaBeanChild
Summary: She came in the middle of the night, a hurricane, a force to be reckoned with. Upon her arrival, things that clearly been set in motion and thing had been changed. The once sweet and caring landlady had reared an ugly head around in face of blip on the radar. A certain blip that caused havoc, grief, and many months of tears to get rid of. Now the Lady's sister is back, with horrible habits, and a new perspective on life. Can the Lady learn to trust her once beloved sister again, or will the pain and new face of the Lady get in the way of the nihilist's goals?Spin off of Tyrant_Tortoise's Skeleton Squatters and the Landlady. Accidental original character in place of the Lady, but eh, I'm too lazy to fix that at the moment.Lots of love to the Tyrant! <3





	The Skeletons, the Landlady, and the Bad Apple

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Tyrant_Tortoise](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tyrant_Tortoise/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Skeleton Squatters and the Landlady](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9816140) by [Tyrant_Tortoise](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tyrant_Tortoise/pseuds/Tyrant_Tortoise). 



> Originally, this was supposed to be a reader-insert, buuuut, I got kind of carried away with the "place-holder names". The character "Callie" is supposed to be the reader. This is also a spin-off of Tyrant_Tortoise's "Skeleton Squatters and the Landlady", so apparent similarities will be shown through out the text.  
> It is about the "Reader's" sister coming up to the lodge and causing trouble for everyone, something without plot that showed how close "Reader" is to those she really deeply cared about, but then I had an idea and BOOM. Plot was made. At least one subplot.  
> "Ema" is not here to take away your (Callie's) skelebaes, but is here to take away attention from them.  
> You can change the named of the characters if you so wish, again, this was supposed to be a reader-insert, but if you want o keep them, whatever. Up to you really.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meeting your (Callie's) good-for-nothing little sister. A fight, a (half-assed) explanation, and a challenge.   
> Callie was supposed to be you, the Reader. Sorry :T

The car ride was quiet, neither girls said a word to each other. The radio wasn’t on, the only music filling the void is the rumble of the engine as the car drove over the dirt roads surrounded by countless trees. Into the woods, it seemed. It was tense, uncomfortable, suffocating. 

The oldest woman in the car let out an extended sigh. The younger girl glanced at the driver through the corner of her eye, not daring to speak, but letting a scowl furrow on her brows. She gazed out the window at the passing trees and dirt roads, barely seeing anything through the dark veil of the night outside. Why did this have to be so difficult? She should be happy to see her sister again, but then wasn’t avoiding her the whole point of going off the grid? Finally, after nearly an hour and a half of a silent car ride, the oldest lady decided to speak. 

“When we get home,” she glanced at the passenger for a moment then back at the road, “I want all of it. You don’t get to hide anything anymore. When we get home, you will stick to me like glue. I am your new oxygen. You need me to survive.” She was quiet, then after a minute asked, “You’re still into metaphors like that, right?”

The teenager rolled her eyes, resisting the urge to scream.  _ ‘Three years since we’ve seen each other, and that’s the first thing you say to me?’ _ She didn’t even bother saying hi back at Heather’s, just spoke to Heather and Dad, grabbed her by the arm, and drove with her to her place. 

Strange since the last she heard, the older lady was living with her boyfriend in the city. Now she lives in the middle of Nowhere, USA? It was a solid seven minutes later when the teenager realized where they were actually going. She almost teared up, this was the last place she spent any genuinely happy moments. She wanted to ask if Grandpa let her live in the place for awhile, but the sight of a cherry red convertible left a small question in the back of her head. 

The older lady, Callie as she was called, parked her beat down Sentra beside the cherry red wind maker. She looked over at Callie. The woman turned the engine off, removed her keys, and hopped out of the car. She closed the door behind her. The teenager, suspicious of the cherry car and the other two vehicles in the yard, stayed put in her seat, letting her sister walk off without her up the front porch. Only after opening the front door did Callie seem to realize that the teenager wasn’t following. She looked back at her car and glared through the glass at the teenager. 

Crossing her arms and letting out a huff of frustration, then teenager sunk lower in her seat. She watched in amusement as Callie came stomping back to the car and rapped on the passenger side window. The teenager stared down at her feet, smirking under the curtain of hair hiding her face. 

The door opened and she was dragged out of the seat. She stumbled out on the dirt before righting herself and seethed behind Callie as she dragged her up to their grandfather’s lodge. Callie let the teenager go only after closing and locking the front door. 

“Okay. Empty your pockets. I want all of it, you don’t get any of it.” Callie stood with one hand on her hip, the other extended and waiting for the items she knew her little sister was hiding on her person. The teenager stared blankly at Callie’s hand before sighing and reaching into her jacket’s pockets, pulling out several lighters, a half used eraser, and a pack of cigarettes. Callie pocketed the items in her own jacket then extended her hand again. “All of it.” The teenager shoved her hands into her pockets and sneered, turning away from Callie. 

“Dammit, Emaline!” Callie yelled. The teenager flinched at the use of her full name and the sheer volume her sister spoke at. “Give it to me, now!” Ema reached down into her boot and pulled out a switchblade. She waved it in front of her face before placing it in Callie’s hand. The older lady narrowed her eyes. Ema groaned and reached under her shirt, pulling a small razor encased in a plastic covering out from the cup of her bra. She opened it, showcased the small but sharp blade, closed it, then placed it in Callie’s hand with the switchblade. Callie muttered a thank you before pocketing the small weapons. 

“jesus…”

Both Callie and Ema looked up at the owner of the new voice. Ema had to do a double take. Callie gave the emo skeleton a smile, though it was clearly strained. “Hey, Red. When did you get here?” Ignoring her inquiry, the skeleton narrowed his eye sockets at the teenager, red eyelights just pinpricks against the darkness. Ema couldn’t keep the shudder from crawling down her spine. The skeleton, Red, turned his attention back to the landlady, an obscured worrisome look hidden in the bone of his face. 

“heard the yelling. came to check you were alright.” He nodded his head to the teenager, obviously asking the silent question of  _ who the fuck is this girl and what is she doing in the house. _ Callie visibly looked exhausted as she gestured toward the younger girl. “Red, this is Ema. Ema, this is my friend Red.” The skeleton raised a bone brow at the term ‘friend’, but quickly dropped it as he saw the newly introduced Ema stare at him with wide, shocked eyes. He chuckled and held out his hand to her. 

She looked down at his hand. Bones. Literal bones. Oh god, was he really a walking talking alive skeleton?! To avoid finding out that those are actual bones or some sort of optical illusion, Ema kept her fists clenched firmly in her pockets, digging her fingernails into the palms of her hands. This couldn’t be real. It couldn’t be. Callie was tripping on the exact same shit she was, she swore… Although unlikely since Ema’s been clean for the past few weeks. She kept her eyes glued to the skeleton’s hand, starting to zone out and think about the last time she got high on a shock. 

Man, she knew going home was a bad idea. Why didn’t she listen to him? 

Callie nudged Ema from behind, giving her a warning glare Ema chose to ignore. The teenager cast her gaze up to the skeleton’s face and gave a little nod before averting her stare down to the floor. Callie audibly groaned. “Alright, uhm Red?” The skeleton hummed. “Think you could not tell your brother or Paps… or Blue about her?”

Red scowled. “why? is she a runaway or somethin’? runnin’ from the feds?” Callie sighed. Ema rolled her eyes and started exploring around the lodge, checking out all the new additions and old accessories on the first floor. The living room looked relatively new, the couch was the same murky brown it always was, the coffee table was new, so was the tv and most of the decor was revamped into something much more modern, definitely not the ‘hunting cabin-y’ feel Ema got as a kid. Further exploration led her to the kitchen and dining rooms. The table was bigger, there were more chairs. The oven was way different, Ema recognized it to be that MTT brand Fire Stove most monsters have in their homes. The fridge was revamped, a newer model with shiny stainless steel and a purified water tap with an ice dispenser was built into the door. Ema continued on, making her way down the hallway to the game room. 

There it was, sitting lonely in the corner screen black with a gracious layer of dust laying atop the plastic covering. Ema’s one true achievement while staying up in her grandpa’s place. The classic arcade machine featuring the infamous 1980 version of the Galaga logo stood proudly beside the yellow and red Ms. Pacman machine in the corner past the bar. Her fingers fell on the controls like old times and she let a rare smile take over. In a way, coming here was good for her. Give her time to recuperate and get her life together, she was still young, she could still choose what road she took.

“didn’t know our intruder was a fan of galaga.” A deep chuckle followed the statement. Ema looked over her shoulder to blankly stare at the new skeleton standing in the doorway. He looked like the emo one out in the foyer, but he wore a bright blue sweater and his permagrin looked much less lethal. The lights in his eyes were small and white, but Ema could tell that this skeleton was probably biting back any remarks about her being a stranger in the lodge. The teenager turned back to the machine. Using the sleeve of her jacket, Ema cleared whatever dust she could on the dead blackened screen and the control panel. 

“i don’t think that works anymore. hasn’t turned on since we moved here. don’t know if it has anything to do with the wiring or electrical output or whatever, it’s just never turned on.” The skeleton was much closer than before. He leaned on the wall beside the Galaga machine, patting the casing with his words. Ema looked up at him with a silent stare, her hands still perfectly placed on the controls. The skeleton shrugged, his eye sockets closing.  _ ‘How the fuck, you’re made of literal bone?’ _

“ah, where’re my manners? i’m sans. sans the skeleton.” Sans held his hand out for her to shake, a single eye socket closing at his informal declaration. Ema, being as uncompliant as she ever could, repeated her earlier actions by simply nodding at the skeleton before returning her attention to the obviously dead machine. “heh. wasn’t expecting that.” For a moment Ema thought she could hear the sarcastic undertone in his voice. It almost made her smile. Obviously, someone as  _ bone dead  _ as he had the capacity of being cynical. If they live and breathe, anyone can be a pain in the ass. 

“Ema!” Callie rushed through the doorway, a slightly frazzled look on her face, exhaustion clearly taking its toll on the young woman’s body. “There you are! God, what did I tell you?” Ema stared blankly at her sister before Callie exclaimed in frustration, “The oxygen metaphor! I am to you as oxygen is to life!” Sans shook his head a bit, chuckling to himself. 

“didn’t peg you as the type to like chicks. besides don’t you think she’s a bit young?” Sans joked. Plainly, Callie wasn’t in a very good mood. She sent the skeleton a deadpan glare and took hold of her sister’s wrist. Ema winced slightly, her eye twitching at the sudden action. “C’mon, I’m tired and not letting you out of my sight. Let’s go, good night Sans.” Callie pulled on Ema’s wrist, dragging her back through the hallway and up several flights of stairs to the loft. Callie gestured for Ema to sit on the bed as she closed the door and moved to her closet, grabbing a couple articles of clothing. She tossed a short sleeve shirt and pair of shorts to Ema. Ema stared at the clothes thrown at her for a moment before giving a quizzical blank look to her sister.

“Sleep clothes,” Callie explained as she stripped from her band tee and jeans into her own shorts and a baggy tee shirt. Ema turned her head away to the flat screen tv sitting on the dresser with the PlayStation 4 and PS4 camera. She looked up through the skylight above Callie’s bed, trying, and failing, to count the stars in the cloudy night sky. Not even the moon could penetrate through the darkness of the traveling clouds, it looked like a storm was brewing. Callie snapped her fingers, gaining her sister’s attention. 

“Clothes. Strip, change. Get in bed.” Callie nodded to the clean clothes Ema still had on her lap. Callie turned off the big light, leaving only the dimness of the fairy lights to illuminate the room. Seeing no real way around this, Ema kicked off her boots and folded her jacket over the swivel chair tucked under the desk. She quickly stripped her jeans and pulled on the shorts, doing the same with her shirt in favor of the new baggier V-neck. The clothes being Callie’s meant that they were a size too large and were baggy on Ema’s smaller frame. Hurriedly Ema climbed into bed with her sister, turning her back to the older lady. She let out a loud yawn that was soon followed by Callie’s own. 

Callie herself was sitting up in bed, resisting to sleep despite her exhaustion to make sure Ema wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. It was going to be a long night, and not wanting to risk texting or calling the other skeletons in case Ema made a fuss, it was going to be a pretty boring one as well. 

 

* * *

  
  
  


The harsh light and the sudden cold awoke the young woman from her much needed slumber. She yelled out at her now frozen body and barely opened her eyes as she tried to clutch at the lost warmth of her precious quilt. She was awoken further at the sound of one of her lodgemates’ voice─ unfortunately for her, it was one of her louder tenants that spoke.

“IT’S TIME TO AWAKEN, AND WHAT BETTER WAY TO WAKE UP THAN BY THE GREAT PAPYRUS!” The jovial skeleton put his hands on his hips, wasting no time in giving the still half asleep landlady a cheerful smile. Groggy from last night’s excursions, Callie looked over to her alarm clock sitting on the bedside table. The clock was analog, which gave a reason for the young woman’s brain more in the mornings. As she familiarized herself with the time, Papyrus continued in his usual cheerful way. “MY BROTHER TOLD ME THIS MORNING THAT THERE WAS ANOTHER HUMAN IN THE HOUSE AND I WANTED TO MEET THEM, I COULDN’T FIND THEM EARLIER, BUT I DID AWHILE AGO COMING OUT OF THE BATHROOM WEARING YOUR CLOTHES. I ASKED HER WHO SHE WAS, BUT SHE DIDN’T SAY ANYTHING.” His tone dropped a few degrees in cheeriness toward the end, but before Callie could hound him of why her sister was out of the room, Papyrus continued on. “BUT THAT’S NOT THE POINT. YOU HAVE BEEN SLEEPING ALL DAY, AND WELL, YOU DID SAY TO WAKE YOU IF YOU EVER OVERSLEPT PAST NOON--”

“I’ve been asleep that long?!” Callie’s eyes flew open, now more alert than she’s been all morning. Taking a better, more clear headed look at the clock on her nightstand confirmed the skelie’s exclamation. It was well past noon-thirty, with the sky a dull blue above the skylight, and half the lodge tenants downstairs in the living room. The landlady rushed Papyrus out of her room so she could get changed into something more fitting for the day. Once finished, Callie took her phone and scrolled through any and all new messages. Most were from her parents, asking about Ema and how she was fairing in a house of monsters. She chose to ignore them all and hook her phone to its charger, frustratingly aware that she forgot to put it on the charger the night, well, morning, before.

Downstairs, Callie watched from the foot of the stairs as Blueberry attempted to start a conversation with the new human. She stood with arms crossed and eyes narrowed as Ema would just stare blankly at the skeleton, glance off in a different direction, then go back to staring at Blue. He was trying so hard to make a conversation that he would often switch topics without warning, going from talking about Napstaton and how he was better than Mettaton, to a strange topic of dog breeds, only hoping to find something the new human was interested in. But the tension wrought heavy in the air. Callie could feel it, and if she had a knife, she’d be able to slice it in two. 

Stretch was watching Ema with a look of causality, like he would look to any human with, but after living with him for nearly a year now, Callie could see the cold calculating look behind his apathetic features with relative ease. She could tell that none of the skeletons were really comfortable with the unexplained human breathing under the same roof as them. She was a stranger, a stranger known only in association with the landlady, so some, if not all, of the household had pieced together that Ema had something to do with Callie. If no one was going to point out the elephant in the room, Edge certainly would-- especially now that the only keeper of willful and relevant information was standing at the foot of the stairs. The narrowed eye glare that the landlady was throwing the new human did slightly shock him, but as quick as the shock came, it left, and left in its place a deep desire of getting to the bottom of why the human teenager was even invited into the house in the first place. 

“WELL, WELCOME BACK TO THE LAND OF THE LIVING.” Edge droned, crossing his arms and eying the lady up and down. Now that the attention of room was centered on her, Callie dropped her malicious glare in exchange for a more ‘deer-in-headlights’ look. A quick glance around the room confirmed that everyone wanted answers, and they would get them one way or another. She let out a sigh, sending a quiet prayer to whatever god there was to make it in this conversation in one piece. “Good mor- afternoon, Edge,” Callie replied with far less hostility than Edge’s sarcastic greeting. Said skeleton huffed. 

“WOULD YOU EXPLAIN TO US WHY THERE SEEMS TO BE ANOTHER HUMAN UNDER THE SAME ROOF AS I?” Ah, a scoop of straight-to-the-point, no sprinkles, and certainly no cherry. That’s what the lady always admired about Edge. No sugar-coating, and certainly no regard for anyone’s “feelings”. Callie felt like she could go for a latte double tall with an extra shot of BITE ME mixed in for an added kick right about now. Clearly, this wouldn’t be her morning, but an explanation is expected, and an explanation they shall get.

“She’s my sister.” A couple of the skeletons’ eye sockets widened, but there wasn’t any collective gasp of astonishment from any-- Blue gasped, a look of disbelief written across his face. “SISTER? BUT YOU TWO ARE SO DIFFERENT! SHE DOESN’T EVEN TALK OR SMILE!” Ema grimaced at that. She prefered not to be compared to her older sister, she already had enough of that to last a lifetime. Callie gave Blue a small smile, going on with her explanation. 

“Yeah, that wasn’t always the case. We’re pretty different because we’ve each been through our own shit,” Callie shrugged. She looked toward Ema with a sad smile, trying to tell her that it was okay. That life was okay. That everything would be fine and merry and dandy. The teenager did not share the same set of mind. She glared up at her sister from the seat she made on the floor. The blueberry beside her ‘OHH’ed in a way that someone would find a quicker way to solve a math problem, or if they finally understood what that math problem was saying. Blue gave Ema a large grin she could see from the corner of her eye. He was precious, innocent, childlike in her eyes. Easily corrupted. Everything Ema was not. “That being said, due to recent events, she will be staying for an extended amount of time. Anyone who has a problem with that will have to consult me.”

Callie sighed, seeing her sister’s uncompliancancy. She’d have to try again some other time. “I’m going to get some food. Anyone else hungry?” Callie heard a chorus of voices and a pair of shuffling feet close behind her. Once in the kitchen, Callie began getting ingredients out for a sort of brunch, a welcome home meal for Ema if you will. Ema herself opened a few cupboards to look for pots and pans to place on the stove. From the kitchen, Callie could hear faint talk between what skeletons were in the living room, barely hearing Stretch convince Blue to leave the two humans to themselves for awhile. Blue reluctantly agreed. 

“Bacon’s in the fridge drawer. Eggs are on the shelf,” Callie said tersely. The pair worked in unison for the most part, frying eggs and sizzling bacon. Callie was in charge of making waffles. She didn’t try to make conversation until most of the food was laid out on the dining room table. “They’re only wanting to help, you know.” Ema glanced up at her sister with a scowl, grabbing a piece of bacon and heading out into the hallway toward the game room as the skeletons came and sat around the table. 

“WOWIE, CALLIE! EVERYTHING LOOKS SO GOOD.” Papyrus complimented. The lady smiled and dug into her own food, watching the other’s faces as they ate. It reminded her that she really needed to cook for them more often. They do so much for her, helped her with every problem she’s faced, and now she’s literally forcing them to put up with her sister, someone they had never heard about until now, someone Callie was very careful not to talk about. She had already come to terms that she would probably never see her sister again, but there she was, down the hall in her favorite place in the lodge eating a piece of bacon and ignoring all attempts of help she was given. 

Someone snapped their fingers close to her nose. “you look zoned out sweetheart. what’s the matter?” Red kept his voice low, but he knew the others could hear. It wasn’t that big of a table anyway. Callie sighed. There wasn’t any getting out of this, huh? 

“It’s just… ugh, it’ll sound like I’m complaining, but I’m actually really happy she’s back and alive and I know I shouldn’t be mad at her, but I can’t help it I just got over her leaving in the first place and now she shows up out of nowhere three years later and, god, all I feel is anger at her leaving in the first place--” 

“jeez kid,” Sans halted the landlady’s babble, though internally thanking her for the excess information. “you said she left a couple years ago?” Callie nodded, face burning bright from her little rant. Papyrus quirked his head. “WHY WOULD SHE LEAVE? DID SHE RUN AWAY?” Blueberry nudged the taller skeleton with his elbow and shook his head. He was aware this was probably a sensitive subject for the landlady. 

“and why did she have all that crap on her last night? how did you know she had those?” 

Callie received some confused looks from the skeletons before she sighed once again. She stared off in the direction of the kitchen, not wanting to tell them how or why. “If you see her with that stuff, just take it away. I don’t want her to get any ideas.” 

“WHAT ITEMS EXACTLY?” Edge asked, he had stayed silent since the living room, a shocker for most of the household. Her hands flew in front of her face, trying to illustrate the blades, cigarettes, and lighters she had last night. “Again, I don’t want her getting any ideas. She’s only nineteen, barely an adult. It would mean a lot if you could keep an eye open when she’s in the room.” 

“WHY SHOULD I WATCH SOME HUMAN CHILD OF YOURS?” Edge dug. Callie shook her head. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to, I was just asking if you all could pitch in and watch her. I see that I was out of my place with asking you that.”

Stretch shook his head, pulling the half bitten strip of bacon out of his mouth. “it’s no problem, hun. i’ll keep a socket on her if edge’s not up to the challenge.” He winked and turned to see the taller skeleton’s ludicrous expression. “ARE YOU CHALLENGING ME, CHIMNEY? I’LL HAVE YOU KNOW I WILL WATCH THAT HUMAN LIKE IT WAS MY OWN-” a couple dumbfounded and amused looks were shared around the table, “-IT WILL BE BEST TAKEN CARE OF BY ME.” With the declaration fresh on his mind, Edge stood from the table and made his way to the game room, shouting for Ema’s attention. Callie started to stand up to follow after, but was pulled down by Red. 

“leave ‘im. he’ll find out it’s harder than it looks.” Red chuckled and turned to Stretch, his grin wider with a sense of amusement. “that was almost too easy. what would you’ve done if he didn’t take the bait?” Stretch himself shrugged. Blue spoke up in mock shock, “YOU ARE CLEVER GETTING EDGE TO DO THAT,” Stretch shrugged, saying a quick “thanks bro” before he was cut off by the now determined skeleton, “BUT HE WON’T DO BETTER THAN I, THE MAGNIFICENT BLUEBERRY!” And he was gone, racing out of the room to follow Edge and talk to the human again. Eyes turned to Papyrus, some half expecting him to get up and race out with the others. Papyrus glanced worriedly around the table. 

“DID I DO SOMETHING?” Sans chuckled and shook his head. “no pap. you’re just fine.” 

“I should go make sure Ema’s alright with everyone..” Callie declared as she stood from her seat and made her own way to the game room.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Irregular updates, chapters will change often depending on editorial, Callie was sUPPOSED to be the Reader, but fuck it.   
> SiStErLy BoNdS 'n ShIt!!1!!
> 
> It's haaard writing so many characters, and I didn't even include limelight on most of them!!


End file.
